Elements+of+Literature-Short+Stories


 * THEME ** : The Story’s Meaning and Roots


 * All the elements of a story add up to theme .


 * __Theme __ is an idea or insight about human life that //gives meaning// to the story.


 * Theme also sometimes reveals the author’s //view of life//.


 * Theme is **__not__** the plot or subject---it is an idea


 * Eight ways to determine theme:
 * 1) The theme can be stated in a single sentence or in an entire essay.
 * 2) A theme is **not** the moral of the story. It is more original and complex .
 * 3) Ask yourself how the protagonist has changed throughout the story.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Think about the title.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">It is expressed in a generalization about life or human nature.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Generalizations about life should be specifically focused.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Theme should explain the **whole story** not just parts.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Every person has <span style="font-family: 'Batang','serif'; font-size: 21px;">his or her <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;"> own way of stating a the <span style="font-family: 'arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">me.
 * __ Theme __** – the central idea, on which a story is built, makes a revelation about the subject, always a statement able to be expressed in one sentence.

Subject – the topic
For example:
 * Love
 * War
 * Growing up

The THEME usually: Finding a story’s theme
 * Is not directly stated in the story at all
 * Reveals a truth about human behavior
 * 1) Think about the title….does it add meaning to the story?
 * 2) Does the main character change or realize something about himself or herself?
 * 3) Are there any important statements about life (or people)?
 * 4) Test your statement of theme on the story- does it apply to the whole story or just to parts?

__ Connotations __ - emotions and associations that have become associated with a word through usage * They can be positive or negative* __ Denotations __ - meanings that are the literal meaning (how the definition appears in the dictionary)

Literary Terms
 * Terms || Definition || Example ||
 * personificaaion ||  ||   ||